Donna Summer

Songwriter: Michael Omartian Greg Phillinganes Donna Summer

Producer: Michael Omartian

[Verse 1]
I was walking down the street just the other day, ooh yeah
I caught a glimpse of life's vivid reality
I saw a man on the street who had no clothes or shoes
These are signs of what they say. Show me, what can we do?

[Chorus 1]
Hey buddy better stop, look, listen
Stop, look, listen
Stop, look, listen
To your heart

[Verse 2]
The prophets of the times are written on streetcar walls
Can't you see them crying, can't you hear them call?
Mother, mother, children still gotta grow
Father, father, where do we go?

[Chorus 2]
Stop, look, listen
Everybody better stop, look, listen
Stop, look, listen
To your heart

[Bridge]
Space age assures us, life will go on
Everybody's trying to believe
"Forget the future, think about right now"
Somehow seems to be the growing theme

[Verse 2]

[Chorus]

[Bridge]

[Chorus]

As the unquestioned queen of disco, the one and only Donna Summer lit up the late 70s and 80s with flashy, exuberant vocals and automatic earworms. Born LaDonna Adrian Gaines on Dec. 31, 1948, Summer moved to Germany after being cast in a Munich production of Hair. There, she happened to meet Giorgio Moroder and Pete Bellotte, and the trio conglomerated to form a dynamic music team. With Moroder, Summer forged together her first album, The Hostage, which reached moderate success in Northern Europe. Summer’s big break, however, would come later with the release of 1975’s sexual “Love to Love You Baby”, which became one of disco’s first mainstream hits and reached #2 on the Billboard Charts.

1977 came around with the concept album I Remember Yesterday, which featured the Top 10 single “I Feel Love”. The next year, Summer hit the silver screen with the movie Thank God It’s Friday, whose soundtrack featured one of her own the iconic “Last Dance.” This would later become one of the disco legends' signature songs. “Dance” would take home an Academy Award for Best Original Song, a Grammy, and a Golden Globe, and it jumped to a peak of #3 on the charts.

Yet Summer’s illustrious career was far from finished – Summer’s first live album Live and More featured the single “MacArthur Park”, a melting ballad that was a cover of the Jimmy Webb ballad of the same name. “Park” became Summer’s first – and perhaps most memorable – No. 1 hit, and cemented her status as a vocalist as well as a performer. With the track, she became the first female in modern rock history to hold the top spot in both the Hot 100 and the Billboard 200. 1979, though, would really be the peak of her career.

more tracks from the album

The Summer Collection: Greatest Hits

From the albums

She Works Hard for the Money (1983)
The Summer Collection: Greatest Hits (1985)

Donna Summer popular songs

Stop, Look and ListenDonna Summer

Donna Summer

The Summer Collection: Greatest Hits